Mobile Cellular Subscriptions Research Articles

FinTech—A pathway to financial inclusion? Evidence from Southern African Development Community member states

AbstractThe study investigates the effect of FinTech on financial inclusion in Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states over the period 2011–2021, while also looking at the transmission channels. The study adopts a battery of econometric techniques such as ordinary least squares (OLS), the two‐step system generalized method of moments (GMM) and the Driscoll and Kraay covariance estimator. The study finds that FinTech (proxied by digitization) deepens financial inclusion (access to loan) and a decline in the number of bank branches in SADC member states. This is logical since the operations of FinTech are digital. This implies that an attempt to promote financial inclusion by traditional means such as building physical bank structures may be limited, especially in Africa where large swathes of the populace remain unbanked. As expected, FinTech (measured by automated teller machines [ATMs]) increases the number of bank branches in SADC. We also find that mobile cellular subscription, the share of population with access to electricity and Internet access and mean years of schooling are important transmission channels of FinTech to financial inclusion in SADC. In general, the result shows that FinTech enhances and deepens financial inclusion in SADC member states. The research and policy implications are discussed.

ICT Adoption and Its Effects on the Economic Growth of Bangladesh: A Time Series Analysis

Understanding information and communication technology (ICT) adoption’s particular effects on a nation like Bangladesh is critical because ICT adoption continues to play a significant role in promoting economic progress globally. By analysing the relationships between ICT use and economic growth in Bangladesh, this study examines data from 2002 through 2021 using a time series analysis. ICT export, gross capital formation, mobile cellular subscriptions, government budget allocation, and foreign direct investment are just a few of the independent variables the study takes into account in relation to ICT adoption. These factors were selected based on their applicability to the adoption of ICT and their potential impact on economic expansion. According to the results of the time series research, the ICT sector’s growing exports have a favourable and considerable impact on long-term economic growth. Mobile cellular subscriptions negatively affect economic growth, with significant short-term impact and insignificant long-term effect. The influence of the government budget is detrimental but insignificant for both long-term and short-term economic growth. The study comes to the conclusion that Bangladesh’s economic development is significantly benefited by the adoption of ICT. The study also highlights the significance of government assistance through budgetary allocation and strategies that draw in foreign direct investment. The results can direct the development of policies and evidence-based decision-making to use ICT adoption as an accelerator for sustained economic development in Bangladesh.

Unpacking the black box: Investigating the role of social protection programmes in promoting decent work and economic growth in low‐income countries

AbstractThis study investigates the intricate nexus between low‐income countries, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the multifaceted phenomenon of unemployment. Amid the global endeavour to achieve SDGs, these marginalised nations assume a pivotal role, confronting distinctive challenges and opportunities. We employ meticulous analysis and structural equation modelling techniques to unveil a complex network of relationships among diverse socio‐economic indicators and unemployment across 27 low‐income countries, encompassing nations such as Afghanistan, Zambia, and others. Our empirical findings underscore the paramount importance of economic advancement, as epitomised by GDP per capita, in fostering employment prospects. Concurrently, environmental endeavours, epitomised by CO2 emissions, underscore the potential of green employment in mitigating unemployment. Investments in education and healthcare, as indicated by primary completion rates and life expectancy, emerge as pivotal determinants of employability. Moreover, access to clean energy sources and mobile cellular subscriptions indirectly influence unemployment rates, underscoring the multifaceted nature of the issue. Furthermore, our analysis reveals the intricate interplay between economic progress and social well‐being. These insights give policymakers invaluable direction, stressing the significance of tailored strategies that harness education, healthcare, technology, and environmental initiatives to alleviate unemployment, cultivate inclusive growth, and advance the overarching aspirations of sustainable development in low‐income countries.

Toward sustainable climate action in advanced economies: Linking information communication technology, technological innovation, economic complexity, and ecological footprint

AbstractInformation and communication technology (ICT), technological innovation, and renewable energy (REN) consumption have been proffered as solutions to the recent environmental tragedies in developed countries. In recent times, ICT diffusion and technological innovation have improved in G7 countries, but the same cannot be said of REN consumption. As such, this study examines the link between ICT, economic complexity, technological innovation, REN, and ecological footprint (EF) for G7 countries over the period 1990–2020. We use three variables (fixed telephone subscriptions [FTS], mobile cellular subscriptions [MCS], and individuals using the internet [IUI]) to represent ICT. The presence of cross‐sectional dependence guides the use of second‐generation econometric methods for slope heterogeneity, unit root, cointegration, and parameter estimation. The augment mean group (AMG) estimator and panel OLS techniques are applied to complement the method of moment quantile regression (MM‐QR) approach. The MM‐QR results suggest that REN consumption and technological innovation impede the EF across all quantile levels (0.1–0.9), whereas economic growth and economic complexity augment the EF in G7 countries. The ICT variables have heterogeneous effects on the EF, suggesting that the impact of ICT on the EF depends on the estimation techniques and proxy for the variable. In line with these outcomes, public policies directed toward funding technological innovation projects are recommended. The funding should specifically focus on environmentally friendly technologies that can guarantee complementarity between reduced environmental damage and increased economic growth.

Remittance inflows in a digital economy: A Sub-Saharan African experience

The undeniable importance of migrants’ remittances to the welfare of developing countries was again demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has therefore led to a significant shift in attention to the relevance of remittances and has likewise spurred research interest in factors that motivate the inflows of remittances. However, in spite of the increasing recognition of the roles of digital technology in the macroeconomic performance of developed and developing economies alike, empirical analysis of its possible impacts on remittance inflows has not been well explored in the literature. Therefore, pooling the annual data of 35 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from 2011 to 2020, this study investigates the nexus between digital technology and remittance inflows within the generalized method of moments (GMM) framework. Using two measures of digital technology infrastructure—internet usage and mobile cellular subscription—the study finds a positive relationship between digital technology and remittances inflow. In addition, the findings indicate that the magnitude of the effect is relatively higher for internet usage. The study thus shows that the increased rate of remittance mobilization constitutes a significant pathway through which digital technology impacts the economies of the SSA region. Moreover, it offers further insight on the importance of digital technology in the socioeconomic development of developing countries. From a policy standpoint, governments and policymakers in SSA countries should intensify efforts to promote the diffusion and penetration of digital infrastructure.

Nexus between information and communication technologies and life expectancies of low-income countries: Does technological advancement increase their life span?

Access to state-of-the-art infrastructure is inevitable for a higher standard of living for the people of any country. At least, this has been the case for developed countries. This study investigates the link between information and communication technologies (ICT) and life expectancy at birth (LEB) among low-income countries. We use panel data of low-income countries from 2000 to 2017 from the comprehensive World Bank dataset. Our analysis strategy includes employing Driskol and Kraay methodology and feasible generalized least squares to tackle cross-sectional dependence. Furthermore, we also employ the instrumental variable technique to deal with the endogeneity problem. We found that a rise in mobile internet use and Mobile Cellular Subscriptions led to improved LEB among low-income countries. On the contrary, the rise in fixed telephone subscriptions had a negative empirical effect on reducing LEB—however, the magnitude of the effect ranged between 0% and 4%.

Impact of belt and road initiative policy and interacting effect of renewable energy toward carbon neutrality.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) represents a comprehensive developmental blueprint that has been deployed across numerous Asian, European, and African nations, aimed at fostering economic growth and enhanced regional connectivity. However, concerns have been raised about its potential impact on the environment, specifically in the context of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Employing non-parametric analytical techniques, this research undertakes an empirical investigation into the relationship between economic growth (GDP), renewable energy consumption (REC), and CO2 emissions within the context of BRI participant countries, spanning the years from 2000 to 2018. The findings of this study reveal that REC exerts a pronounced and statistically significant mitigating effect on CO2 emissions, implying that an increase in REC corresponds to a reduction in CO2 emissions. In contrast, trade openness (TRADE) exhibits a positive and statistically significant influence on CO2 emissions, signifying that greater trade openness is associated with heightened CO2 emissions. However, the observed effects of GDP, fixed telephone subscriptions (FTS), and mobile cellular subscriptions (MCS) on CO2 emissions remain inconclusive, as their impact lacks statistical significance. The effect estimates of covariates on CO2 emissions using various models reveal that REC and TRADE significantly affect CO2 emissions, while GDP, FTS, and MCS still yield uncertain results. The outcomes draw attention to the necessity of implementing policies that encourage the use of REC and reducing trade openness as an efficient way of neutralizing CO2 emissions. This research provides valuable insights into the impact of the BRI on CO2 emissions and emphasizes the importance of addressing the environmental implications of this initiative. Policymakers should carefully consider these findings and develop effective strategies to foster sustainable development.

Exploring the Nexus among Tourism, Information Communication Technology and Economic Growth: A Case Study of Nigeria

The research investigates the relationship between economic growth and tourism as well as information and communications technology (ICT) between 1995 and 2021. Using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) process and an enhanced Solow framework for cointegration analysis; we examine how these variables interact. The findings demonstrate that, when all three are forced to depend on one another, economic growth, foreign tourism receipts—which act as a stand-in for tourism—and mobile cellular subscriptions—which indicate the pervasiveness of ICT—all display cointegration. At the 1% level, both ICT and tourism have long-term statistically significant effects. ICT and tourism have short-run coefficients of 0.006 and 0.03 respectively. Furthermore, at the 1% level, the interaction term (LNTOUR*MCS) of tourism receipts and ICT is associated with a long-run coefficient (0.148) that indicates a positive and statistically significant effect on economic growth. This finding highlights the importance of fostering the mutually beneficial interaction between the development of technology and the growth of the tourist industry as key factors in Nigeria's economic prosperity.

Modelling temporal dynamics: does internet use fuel anti-government protests?

ABSTRACT The past three decades have witnessed a rapid global uptake of digital media. Does an increase in internet access lead to more anti-government protests globally, in both democracies and non-democracies? Has the role of the internet changed over time from benefiting the opposition to benefiting the regime? We use time-series cross-national data and negative binomial regressions to model protest data in 151 countries from 1990 to 2020. By leveraging change in the development of digital information globally, the results show that increases in internet penetration and mobile cellular subscription rates increase the number of anti-government protests in non-democracies in the period from 1990 to 2010, but not among a subsample of democracies. After 2010, increases in internet penetration rates did not affect the number of protests in either democracies or non-democracies. The use of cellular internet continues to have a small positive effect on protest frequency after 2010. We also test the government's internet censorship efforts as a mechanism for decreasing information access and diminishing mobilization. Results suggest authoritarian regimes modified their strategies over time, more effectively using information and communications technologies (ICTs) to quell anti-government protests using digital repression and information control consistent with the theory of informational autocracy.

How ICT Development Since the 1990s Has Contributed Differently to Gender Equality in High-income, Middle-income and Low-income Countries

Gender inequality is a global issue. It is well known that ICT (Information and Communications Technology) development has a place in promoting gender equality, and many international organizations that aim to promote gender equality have adopted measures on ICT expansion in the process of promoting gender equality. Since the 1990s, ICT has been introduced almost globally, and the lack of access to ICT has improved even in the more disadvantaged regions. The existing literatures have answered positively to the question of whether ICT has contributed to the development of gender equality, but no studies have been conducted to determine whether ICT development has had a different impact on the promotion of gender equality in high-income, middle-income, and low-income countries, and middle- and low- income countries are at different stages of development. If it is true that development of gender equality in middle- and low-income countries has been deeply influenced by ICT development, it can be assumed that the continued promotion of ICT development is effective in reducing gender gap in these countries. Therefore, in this paper, GDI (Gender Development Index), HDI (Human Development Index), GGGI (Global Gender Gap Index), investment in ICT with private participation (current US$), mobile cellular subscriptions, individuals using the Internet (% of population), and fixed broadband subscriptions were used to explore whether the development of ICT since the 1990s has had a differential impact on the development of gender equality in the United States, Norway, Mexico, China, Mali, and Yemen. The final result showed that the contribution of ICT development to gender equality since the 1990s is more significant in middle- and low-income countries, and the positive correlation between ICT development and gender equality is more pronounced in middle- and low-income countries.

The Role of Digital Finance in Economic Development: A Cross Country Analysis

Nations having strong infrastructure on digital platform are likely to have more acceleration in digital finance sector and reap the benefits of this sector. The term digital finance means to provide financial services through personal computers, mobile phones or any reliable digital payment system. Digital finance has the capacity to give convenient, inexpensive and firm banking services. Financial inclusion is a win-win situation that is fulfill by digital finance. Sufficient evidences confirms that internet penetration and mobile phones built up sturdy infrastructure for digital finance and thus support in boosting economic development. Therefore, the objective of this research is to examine the impact of digital finance on World’s economic development. By pursuing the fulfillment of objective, this study collected the data of 77 countries from during the period from 2011 to 2021 and adopted two step system Generalized method of moments (GMM) to inspect the effects of mobile cellular subscriptions and internet usage on economic development parameters. Our findings indicate that mobile cellular services and internet uses have better impact on economic growth and per capita income. These findings also proposes some major policy implementations especially for developing countries that they must adopt such policies which make better ground to promote digital financial system and thus move ahead to cashless economies in order to get immense benefits from it.

Synthesizing the role of technological innovation on sustainable development and climate action: Does governance play a role in sub-Saharan Africa?

The present study draws motivation from United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) and its impact by 2030. To this end, the current study explored the nexus between energy consumption (SDG-7), climate action (SDG-13), and economic growth (SDG-8) while controlling for role of government apparatus such as like voice of accountability, rule of law, control of corruption and technology innovation in a balanced panel of 46 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) economies from 1996 to 2020. For a robust study, the present study leverages on second-generation estimator such as cross-sectional SUR, two-stage least square (2SLS), 2SLS is referred to as the superior estimators to traditional pool OLS due to its capabilities of including endogenous regressors and efficiency. Empirical findings show that all the coefficients associated with mobile subscription (lnTI) are negative and statistically significant at 1% level of significance (P-value <0.01). This indicates that higher (lower) mobile cellular subscriptions results in the reduction (rise) of renewable energy consumption, implying that technological innovation in terms of the expansion of mobile cellular subscription hinders access to clean energy in SSA. Conclusively, the present study presents interesting outcomes concerning technology innovation, Governance, and SDGs goal 7 (clean energy) and 13 (climate action) in Sub-Saharan African blocs. Policy strategies are outlined in the concluding section.

Demographic Dividend, Digital Transformation and Environmental Sustainability Nexus in South Asia

The study explains the impact of digital transformation and environmental sustainability on the demographic dividend. Over the last few decades, remarkable demographic changes are founded in South Asian countries that provide a “window of opportunity” and cause sustainable development by promoting the working-age population. We have used Panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL) to investigate the dynamic linkages between variables and estimate long-run and short-run results by applying different techniques. Data of all concerned variables are taken from 1972 to 2020 across all South Asian countries. The study employs two models to determine the relationship among variables. In the first model, long-run results show that mobile cellular subscriptions, internet users, urbanization growth, and trade are positively related to population ages (15-64) except for greenhouse gas emissions, governance index, and human capital index. In the second model, mobile cellular subscriptions, internet users, greenhouse gas emissions, urbanization growth, human capital index, and trade are positively related to secondary school enrollment except for the governance index. This study suggests that South Asian countries focus not only on the use of ICT but also promote other digitalization indicators for digital technology developments through investment. Further, policymakers may introduce policies to revamp the education system and create new opportunities to fulfill the labor market demand.

Scrutinizing interlinkages between digitalization, economic complexity, green technologies, green energy consumption and CO2 emission by quantile spillovers in Vietnam.

We use quantile vector autoregression (QVAR) to identify the connection between six variables related to digitalization (proxied by a number of Internet users and mobile cellular subscriptions), green technology development, green energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and economic complexity index from 1996 to 2019 in Vietnam. The dynamic connectedness of the system is 62% and 14% in the short and long term, respectively. Their connectedness is intense for highly positive and negative quantiles (over 80% quantile). In contrast, economic complexity transmits shocks in the short term and manifests itself even more in the long term. Green technology development is the central receiver of short- and long-term shocks. Besides, digitalization captured by a number of Internet users has switched from shock transmitters to shock receivers in the short term. Other metrics like mobile cellular subscriptions, green energy consumption, and CO2 emissions are mainly shock-receiver-driven. In the short term, there was volatility, especially from 2009 to 2013, due to unprecedented events like destructive changes in political, economic, and financial issues in the globe. Our findings are critical for economists and policymakers in promoting a country's digitalization, green technology performance, and green energy on the path toward sustainable development.

Scrutinizing time-varying interlinkages between digitalization, green technologies, CO2 emission, and energy productivity in Vietnam

We use an extended joint connectedness technique and the time-varying parameter vector autoregression (ETVP-VAR) method to examine connections between digitalization captured by a number of Internet users (% of the population) (INU) and mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people), green technology (EI), CO2 emissions (CO2), and energy productivity (EP) from 1996 to 2019 in order to examine the relationships between digitalization, green technology and energy efficient. Our results demonstrate that Internet users and mobile cellular subscriptions are identified as crucial net transmitters of shocks. In addition, the energy-efficient index turns from a shock transmitter to a shock receiver and vice versa. Moreover, CO2 emission mostly plays a role as a net receiver of shocks during the surveyed period, except for the phase between 1997 and 2000. Moreover, pairwise connectedness emphasizes the dominance of digitalization, measured by the number of individuals using the Internet all the time. In addition, digitalization performance is a net transmitter of shocks to mobile cellular subscriptions, green energy, and energy productivity. The impact of Interner users on MOBSUB and EP is significantly large, while it is smaller in that than EI and CO2 emissions.

Probing environmental sustainability pathways in G7 economies: the role of energy transition, technological innovation, and demographic mobility.

Global warming remains the most devastating environmental issue embattling the global economies, with significant contributions emanating from CO2 emissions. The continued rise in the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions serves as a compelling force which constitutes the core of discussion at the recent COP26 prompting nations to commit to the net-zero emission target. The current research presents the first empirical investigation on the roles of technological advancement, demographic mobility, and energy transition in G7 pathways to environmental sustainability captured by CO2 emissions per capita (PCCO2) from 2000 to 2019. The study considers the additional impacts of structural change and resource abundance. The empirical backings are subjected to pre-estimation tests consisting of cross-sectional dependence, second-generation stationarity, and panel cointegration tests. The model estimation is based on cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag, dynamic common correlated effects mean group, and augmented mean group for the main analysis and robustness checks. The findings reveal the existence of EKC based on the direct and indirect effects of the components of economic growth. The indicators of demographic mobility differ in the direction of influence on PCCO2. For instance, while rural population growth negatively influences PCCO2 in the short-run alone, urban population growth increases PCCO2 in the short-run and long-run periods. Nonrenewable energy, information computer technology (ICT) imports, and mobile cellular subscriptions serve as positive predictors of PCCO2, while ICT exports and renewable energy moderate the surge in PCCO2. Policy implications that enhance environmental sustainability are suggested following the empirical verifications.

The heterogeneous effect of ICT on countries with different levels of ecological degradation and income: A panel quantile approach

Existing studies concerning the nexus between Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the environment have consistently reported findings of an average effect of ICT on environmental degradation. However, false conclusions can be drawn by ignoring that the degree of environmental quality differs across countries and relying solely on ICT's average impact. The present study argued that ICT's impact on the environment differs between countries with different levels of ecological degradation and income. This argument was addressed by employing Panel Quantile Regression (PQR) on panel data spanning 50 high-income economies, 49 upper-middle-income economies, and 72 low-income economies between 2000 and 2020. ICT infrastructure in each country was measured by combining fixed broadband and mobile cellular subscriptions. At the same time, environmental quality was measured by the ecological footprint. According to the PQR analysis, expanding ICT services was associated with a significant deterioration in environmental quality in countries with healthy ecological systems, regardless of income level. In contrast, developing ICT sectors improved the environment in countries with highly degrading environments. Based on this study's findings, a threshold level of the ecological footprint (rather than ICT) existed, after which expanding ICT services improved the environment. In this regard, this study's findings indicated that generalising the benefits of expanding ICT services on the environment is misleading. Consequently, this paper has provided different recommendations and policy implications for each income group.

Information and communication technology development and health gap nexus in Africa.

Development of information and communication technology has been identified as a tool for fast and effective information gathering and dissemination, and as a means through which almost every social and economic sector (including the health sector) could achieve economic, operational, and service delivery efficiencies that can enable the realization of targeted outcomes. ICT can serve as a tool for achieving international agreements (including the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978), thereby accelerating the achievement of various global development targets. Consequently, based on a sample of 38 countries from 2000 to 2018, this study investigates the effect of ICT development on the health gap, and whether the effect varies by gender and sub-region in Africa. The dependent variable (health gap) was measured as the difference between the achieved life expectancy at birth of 60 years and the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978 targeted life expectancy at birth of 60 years. The main independent variables are ICT indicators (ICT index, mobile cellular subscriptions, and internet access), while the gross domestic product (GDP), which is the measure of economic growth, healthcare expenditure, urbanization, and labor market outcome, is employed as control variables. The effect was examined using Driscoll-Kraay standard errors, feasible generalized least squares (FGLS), and panel-corrected standard error (PCSE). The findings of the Driscoll-Kraay standard errors estimation technique supported by those of FGLS and PCSE suggest that ICT does act as an indispensable stimulator for Africa to significantly exceed the international health target of life expectancy at birth of 60 years. It can be concluded that African leaders need to take advantage and maximize the health-enhancing potential of the internet component of ICT through relevant policies that would improve internet coverage, connectivity, and access for individuals and health institutions.

Information and Communication Technologies and Agricultural Production: New Evidence from Africa

While information and communication technologies (ICT) have proven to be useful in boosting agricultural production and productivity, regardless of the geographical location, much of the discussion on ICT and their impact focus on the global north, with deficient literature on the global south. The limited account of the global south shows mixed conclusions on the impact of information and communication technologies on agricultural production, with most studies focusing on crop production, as a proxy for agricultural production, leaving out livestock production. Animated by this concern, this article explores the impact of ICTs on agricultural production (crop and livestock) in Africa using panel data from 32 African countries and the panel autoregressive distributed lag model as the estimation technique. We find that individuals using internet significantly increased crop production in the long run. Specifically, a percentage increase in internet patronage increases crop production by 0.071% but significantly decreases the livestock production index, both in the short and long run. Mobile phone subscriptions had a significant negative impact on crop production in the long run but had a significant positive impact on livestock production in the long run. Fixed phone subscriptions significantly increased crop production in the long run but significantly decreased livestock production index in the long run. The findings show bidirectional causality between crop production and internet patronage, livestock production and individuals using internet, crop production and mobile cellular subscription, crop production and net national income, and rural population and both crop and livestock production. We recommend that governments in Africa increase funding investment in digital technologies to foster increased agricultural production while addressing structural challenges that constrain increased access to digital agricultural technologies. It might be useful if governments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) incentivize the telecommunication companies to extend digital coverage to rural areas through tax rebates and holidays to encourage rural inclusion in the digital space to bridge the digital divide.

Digital infrastructural development and inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The study assesses the effect of digital infrastructural development on inclusive growth in 44 Sub-Saharan African countries from 2000 to 2020. The study adopts the Driscoll-Kraay strategy to address cross-sectional dependence and the Newey-West standard errors to address errors-related problems. The study adopted the four indicators of digital infrastructures and their component score to determine their effect on inclusive growth which ensures equitable distribution of resources in an economy. The findings of the study reveal that inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is enhanced by the number of individuals using the internet, the number of fixed broadband subscribers, fixed telephone and mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 adults. The findings further reveal that digital infrastructures enhance the level of inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan African economies irrespective of whether the countries belong to the lower-, middle- and upper-income groups. The study recommends policymakers augment their investments in digital infrastructure and human capital to raise the level of inclusive growth.